McCarron's Medal of Honour in ANZAC success

Adelaide 36ers captain Mitch McCarron continues to flex his muscles in the NBL1 Central competition, with another two dominant displays across the ANZAC Round.

The 189cm combo guard was awarded the ANZAC Medal on Tuesday as his West Adelaide Bearcats won their fourth game of the season 100-56 against Southern Tigers at Port Adelaide.

McCarron said winning the medal was a proud achievement.

"We had lots of different guys who played well and played hard," he said.

"I'm very happy to be part of the ANZAC round and represent it.

"The service before the game was really good and they'd put a lot of effort into that.

"To look around the nation and see all the different clubs around NBL1 was great.

"It's good the NBL1 does that event, it's a public holiday for lots of people so it's a good chance to get around to the basketball."

McCarron added he reflected plenty during the service pre-game about ANZAC Day and what it meant.

"You have to in the moment, especially if you understand what it's all about and what ANZAC Day is," he said.

"We're very lucky to be able to play basketball and be in a country that's pretty safe and that's thanks to the people who fought for it in the past.

"It's a great way to recognise and honour them."

McCarron scored 15 points, grabbed seven rebounds, had seven steals and dished three assists as the Bearcats kept the Tigers searching for their first win of the season with a four-quarter effort on their home floor.

The Australian Boomers 2022 FIBA Asia Cup winner also got above the rim on multiple occasions as West Adelaide opened the ANZAC Round last Thursday night with a comfortable 99-59 win against Sturt Sabres at Springbank.

McCarron scored 15 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and dished five assists in the 40-point win and said it's good the team have found some form.

"We've picked our stuff up, we had some losses early on to some good teams, but I didn't feel we were playing our best basketball," he said.

"We had some discussions on how to change that, it's good to see some results going our way now."

Newly-signed assistant coach Scott Ninnis led his South Adelaide Panthers to a 1-1 split across the ANZAC round.

The Panthers fell 69-68 to Forestville Eagles on Saturday night at their Mitchell Park home court before rebounding superbly on Tuesday with a 93-74 win against Woodville Warriors at St Clair Recreation Centre in a rematch of the 2022 NBL1 Central grand final.

CLEVELAND STARS IN ISRAEL 

Antonius Cleveland again got bragging right over fellow import Robert Franks in Israel over the weekend.

The 196cm swingman took out the Slam Dunk award at the Israeli Premier League All-Star game before leading his team to another victory.

Cleveland’s Hapoel Eliat came away with a tough 92-86 win against Gilboa Galil at home after a huge 27-14 third quarter surge.

Franks had a game high 24 points to go with six rebounds and three assists for Gilboa Galil, while Cleveland finished with 15 points, four assists and three rebounds for the winners.

The victory gives Hapoel Eilat the chance to make their way into the top three of the Bottom-Teams League group standings.